The purpose of this project is to conduct and coordinate interdisciplinary studies on cancer-prone families in order to clarify the role of genetic mechanisms and host-environmental interactions in carcinogenesis. Clinical studies of high-risk families have suggested etiologic relationships between cancers, constellations of which may cluster in individuals (multiple primary neoplasms) or may be scattered over the family tree (familial neoplastic syndromes). Discovery of laboratory abnormalities in certain cancer-prone families, such as subclinical immunodeficiency in family members predisposed to lymphoma, or premalignant conditions in individuals prone to colon cancer and melanoma, have provided insights into the mechanism of susceptibility to cancer. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Blattner, W.A.: Family Studies: The Interdisciplinary Approach. In Mulvihill, J.J., Miller, R.W. and Fraumeni, J.F., Jr. (Eds.): Genetics of Human Cancer. New York, Raven Press, 1977, pp. 269-280. Lubiniecki, A.S., Blattner, W.A. and Fraumeni, J.F., Jr.: Elevated Expression of T-Antigen in Simian Papovavirus 40-Infected Skin Fibroblasts From Individuals With Cytogenetic Defects. Cancer Res. 37: 1580-1583, 1977.